Mark Pizzi

Mark Pizzi is the past President and Chief Operating Officer of Nationwide Insurance, and in those roles, along with his volunteer work, he has found that it is important to build and lead collaborative teams who understand how to work across an organization to meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s consumers.
As a leader at Nationwide, his focus was on: setting the strategic direction, delivering results through highly engaged associates, serving as a visionary and dot connector with a sight on tomorrow’s consumers, and developing leaders and associates. Part of ensuring everyone’s success at Nationwide came from creating opportunities for all associates. That's why Mark served an executive sponsor of AWARE, an Associate Resource Group (ARG) focused on advocating for African-American Women. His leadership philosophy was developed, in part, from watching his father, a 40-year Army veteran who taught him that attitude is everything. He used to tell Mark to focus on the positives and take a solutions-based approach to solving problems.
Since retirement he has dedicated his time and energy to community work benefiting children and families and victims of domestic violence. Mark believes "Giving back matters—it’s a privilege to help people achieve their hopes and dreams."

This article was originally published on LinkedIn and is reproduced on Insurance Nerds with the author’s permission. My upbringing shaped my early view of women. I grew up in a military household and watched my mom (and many other moms) raising kids, balancing jobs and running households while their husbands were stationed overseas or in combat. … Read more

I’m sometimes asked ‘Why is gender equality so important in the workplace?’ My response is typically, ‘Why not?’ To me, gender equality is the foundation, but the question needs to go beyond that to: ‘Why is equality so important in the workplace?’ Equality is achieved when people can access and enjoy the same rewards, resources … Read more